Word: medals
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Skansi and other coaches, there are more immediate concerns as the tournament moves into the single elimination medal round this week. Can anyone stop Lithuania's Sarunas Marciulionis? Will Brazil's Oscar Schmidt ever forgo a three-point shot for a pass to a teammate? Will U.S. forward Charles Barkley keep his elbows to himself? The answers are: no, no and most definitely not. "Charles is Charles," says Michael Jordan. "He's not crazy. He just likes to push his behavior to the edge." Jordan and his teammates have been trying to push it back, with only modest success. When...
Barkley's act of Ugly Americanism was played down by Angolan coach Victorino Cunha. "We know Charles Barkley," he said. "No problem. He does this 10 times a year in the N.B.A." For his part, Cunha deserves a medal for perseverance. In 1975 he started the Angolan basketball program. From scratch. In the 17 years since, he and his team have endured a war that virtually destroyed their nation. On the court they have put up with ridicule. For all who would listen in Badalona, Cunha had one message. "We can play. We can play," he repeated. No one thought...
...Cvjeticanin: "We are the Dream Team of another part of the world." Not so fast, Danko. The Grateful Dead, admirers of Marciulionis, are backing the Lithuanians. They should know. As performers, at least, the Dead have been on a 25-year-long winning streak. But even if the silver medal is carried back to Moscow and not Vilnius, all teams can celebrate. The Dream Team, too, though it will have to settle for gold...
...that, in a nutshell, may explain the curious lack of joy last Thursday evening in the Palau Sant Jordi. The women's all-around should have been an energizing high for rapt spectators. The field of competitors was so deep with talent that on any given day, the gold medal could have hung deservedly on any one of eight necks from four countries. There was enough grace to satisfy balletomanes and enough difficulty to suggest that the laws of gravity ought to be rewritten. Yet there was little of the heartwarming drama that in Olympics past enabled audiences to lose...
...Americans, a sixth-place team finish was followed by no higher than a 19th-place finish in the all-around. None of this came as much of a surprise, despite optimistic precompetition talk of a bronze medal. Most of the top U.S. male gymnasts are college students who abide by NCAA guidelines that restrict their training to 20 hours a week, roughly half the practice time of their main challengers. The American women, by contrast, are mostly still in high school and train in private gyms where no restrictions apply. Their discipline and dedication earned them a team bronze...